Editing Colonial Commerce (section)

== Geographic Advantages ==

Philadelphia's commercial success began with geography. The city's location on the Delaware River, approximately 100 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, offered protected deep-water anchorage accessible to ocean-going vessels. Ships could sail up the Delaware Bay and River to reach Philadelphia's wharves, where they loaded and unloaded cargo in the heart of the city. The Schuylkill River, entering the Delaware just below the city, provided additional waterway access to the interior. Philadelphia's position at the fall line—the point where rivers descend from the Piedmont to the coastal plain—made it a natural transshipment point, the furthest inland that ocean vessels could easily navigate.<ref name="weigley">{{cite book |last=Weigley |first=Russell F. |title=Philadelphia: A 300-Year History |year=1982 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York}}</ref>

The agricultural productivity of southeastern Pennsylvania provided the commodities that drove Philadelphia's trade. The region's fertile soil and temperate climate supported abundant wheat production, making Philadelphia the breadbasket of colonial America. Local mills processed wheat into flour for export, and Philadelphia flour earned a reputation for quality that commanded premium prices in Atlantic markets. The surrounding countryside also produced beef, pork, lumber, iron, and other goods that merchants shipped to the Caribbean, where sugar plantations required constant imports of food and supplies. This symbiotic relationship between Philadelphia's merchants and the region's farmers created wealth that enriched both urban and rural communities.<ref name="lemon">{{cite book |last=Lemon |first=James T. |title=The Best Poor Man's Country: Early Southeastern Pennsylvania |year=1972 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore}}</ref>